Tom Griffin, myself, several other Stepinac classmates, and friends of B.T. Collins decided in 1993 to start a scholarship in B.T.'s memory at Archbishop Stepinac High School in White Plains, NY. This is where our basic values and ideals were shaped by many dedicated religious teachers and coaches.

Tom Griffin, B.T. Collins and I grew up in White Plains, NY and were in class together for all four years in high school. We stayed in touch with B.T. during his incredible military career, first as an enlisted volunteer, and later as an officer. B.T. performed many courageous untold acts for fellow soldiers throughout his career until tragedy struck on his second tour in Vietnam.

I visited B.T. after his long rehab from life threatening war wounds that caused the loss of an arm and a leg and wished him well as he headed west to Santa Clara University to complete college and graduate from Santa Clara Law School.

The record of B.T. in public service in California is well known. I think B.T.’s greatest accomplishment was turning around the California Conservation Corps from a failed program to an great success story. He changed the lives of thousands of troubled youth with a combination of Irish wit that could bite and his unique leadership skills.

B.T. and I spent quite a bit of time together in Washington, where he was a leader in promoting the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in the nation’s capitol. It was built by our family business, Gilbane Building Company.

Over dinners, I loved hearing how B.T. met and overcame one challenge after another in his public service work. We received solid support for the B.T. Collins Scholarship at Archbishop Stepinac High School from many of the class of '58 and many others who knew B.T.

With the passing of time I did not want to see the scholarship fade away. I realized we needed to raise the endowment to at least $200,000 from its current level of about $50,000. This can potentially enable two students to receive partial, four-year scholarships from the interest and dividends of the endowment. I decided to take the step of committing at least $10,000/year for as long as it takes for our scholarship to be fully endowed.

We welcome contributions large and small from Stepinac alumni and friends of B.T. around the country. See “How to support scholarship” on this website.

Our scholarship can change the lives of young people as shown by our first recipient Mike McCauley. Mike would have had to leave Stepinac in his first year were it not for the scholarship. Mike graduated from NYU Business School after Stepinac and after working for others, now has his own business in New York City and is a regular supporter of the scholarship. Mike often has gone out of his way to come to see me here in Maryland and update me on his life and tell me how much the BT Collins Scholarship meant in his life.

I hope you will join me in building the BT Collins Scholarship Fund to a level where it can be a real influence in the lives of worthy high school students at Stepinac.

Bill Choquette
Chevy Chase, MD

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Mail letters and checks to:

B.T. Collins Scholarship Committee
Attn: John Shanahan
700 N. Colorado Blvd. #334  ●  Denver, CO 80206-4085

Please make checks payable to: "Stepinac HS Foundation-BT Collins"

Toll Free 1-866-399-0393  ●  Email: john@btcollinsscholarship.com